World of Outlaws

DON: I’ve seen the Outlaws once before, near Chicago – the track was sticky and made for great wheel standing action. The Hartford track was lacking bite, but it did still allow the drivers to show how truly insane they are. There is no such thing as a graceful wreck when it comes to Outlaw Sprinters, it would be like rolling a toaster down a bowling alley. What really stuck out as different about these drivers was the look in their eyes – it was intense, it was don’t “F” with me, it was Mr. T in Rocky. Check out the examples below.

BEVERLY: Wow!!! That’s all I had to say on Wednesday night August 6 in Hartford, MI. This was the scariest and most exciting race I have ever witnessed. These guys are completely out of control and they like it!

I was trying to get to the infield when some of the cars on the track decided to get up to speed. The dirt was flying and I was getting covered. I decided to walk around to the front stretch and get some advice on where I should enter. Well, that was the place so I crossed that dirt track and began looking for a way to get to the opposite end of the track where my partner (personally and professionally) was taking pictures. It was a long walk and I was beginning to realize my path was not really clear. Who should I run into but the track rescue truck just waiting for the practice to be over so they could drive the track. Nice guys that they were they “rescued” me and drove me over to Don at the end of the track. Thank you so much guys! That was certainly a highlight of my night.

Now we had a very good position for photos at the end of the track but Don kept reminding me that I had to keep my eyes on the cars that may get out of control. This put me a little on edge but how could I have known that on the first lap, in the first turn where I stood, we would see an incredible wreck. I was shooting as the wreck started to happen, however, I didn’t get the actual flipping of the car over the wall. I would have been the toast of the media had I gotten that and I missed it by seconds. Several of the other photographers came over to see if we got it but alas we didn’t and we were the closest to the action.

The pits were a great place to be because just like your normal Saturday night race, we could watch the drivers preparing up close. The cars were very cool. The driver’s seat looks like a cockpit and appears very safe. Which is a good thing since those guys are just out of control on the track!!! Another cool thing was the ride-along given by Dave Blaney’s Outlaw driving experience. I am amazed at the bravery of the passenger in this car.

All in all it was a great night and I would encourage everyone to go and see the O’Reilly World of Outlaws. You will not be disappointed. In closing, I want to say congratulations to Brian Paulus for an outstanding performance that night. You can see the complete story here